Israel hits Lebanon, claims 'blatant' Hezbollah truce breach

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned of an increase in executions and death sentences in Iran this year,

Volker Türk said that at least 56 people had been executed in Iran on national security-related charges since March 19, including 27 cases linked to the protests at the start of the year, before the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran.

"I am alarmed by the rise in executions and death sentences issued in Iran since March, and that capital punishment continues to be used to instill fear among the population and suppress dissent," Türk said in a statement. 

Türk said more than 100 further people were at risk of the death penalty based on similar security-related charges, and also said executions for drug-related offenses were becoming more common. 

As recently as Monday of this week, Iran's judiciary said that two men had been executed on charges of spying for Israel during the 12-day war between the two countries last summer.

Iran was already one of the most prolific users of the death penalty on the planet prior to this year's domestic and international conflict. 

In the countries tracked by Amnesty International, Iran, a country of some 93 million people, was logged as committing 2,159 or more executions last year, or six times as many as its regional rival Saudi Arabia, with its population of 35 million.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported one dead and 12 wounded in the southern town of Tebnine in the Bint Jbeil district, citing the Health Ministry's Public Health Emergency Operations Center. 

In a separate item, it reported that "around 15 civilian families" had left the town of Mansouri after the IDF warning that civilians should leave the town. 

Both Mansouri and Tebnine are located in the south of Lebanon. The region has seen repeated bouts of fighting since March, with Israeli troops deployed on Lebanese territory to maintain what Israel refers to as a "buffer zone" against the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The Shiite militia is regarded as a terror group by Israel, Germany, the US and others.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) shipping monitor says it has received a report of an incident off the coast of Yemen. 

It gave a location some 95 nautical miles (176 kilometers) southeast of the Yemeni city of Aden, in the Gulf of Aden, roughly equidistant between the Yemeni and Somali coastlines. 

"The Master of a tanker reported hearing a loud explosion in close proximity to the vessel," UKMTO wrote in its alert. "All crew are accounted for and safe. There is no environmental impact reported."

It said authorities were investigating the case, and advised vessels to "transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO." 

A day earlier, India reported a commercial vessel sinking after a strike in waters off Yemen. Iran-backed Houthis recently declared an "embargo" on Saudi Arabian ports, heightening security concerns in the region. 

Somalia, to the south of Yemen, has also been a piracy hotspot for years.

The spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baghaei, has said that Iran and Oman have agreed the geographic coordinates for a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz. 

He said that a joint statement was being finalized, provided no third parties interfered. 

But Baghaei also said that any such agreement between Iran and Oman would not, by itself, guarantee security in the strategic waterway. 

The talks between the two countries, whose coastlines run along either side of the narrowest segment of the strait, had been ongoing for several days. 

"The geographical coordinates of the route envisaged by the two sides have been agreed upon and, if certain third parties do not obstruct the process, the joint statement of the two countries, containing the main considerations and points of agreement, is also in the final review and drafting stage," spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to state news agency IRNA.

US government officials had also frequently touted the talks' progress. Yesterday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was "involved" in the talks between Iran and Oman and signaled optimism on their outcome. President Donald Trump had repeatedly claimed much more direct US involvement in the negotiations.

Three airlines and two aircraft have been removed from the US' secondary sanctions risk list, data published on the US Treasury Department's website on Wednesday shows. 

The website listed three airlines, all registered to the same address in Baghdad and established on the same date, that it said were linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and specifically its clandestine foreign operations body known as the Qods (or Quds) Force. 

It named them as Fly Baghdad Airlines Company, Iraq Express and Fly Baghdad. The wording used by the US Treasury seemed to suggest the names were interchangeable and only one real-life entity was behind all three.

The Treasury also listed two Boeing 737 aircraft, which it said were linked to these companies — one manufactured in 2002 and the other in 2008 — as also being removed from the sanctions list by executive order. 

The Treasury did not issue a rationale for the move.

Israel's military has said it is hitting targets in southern Lebanon, after saying it was "compelled to act" by the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia. 

"In response to a blatant violation of the ceasefire by Hezbollah, the IDF has begun conducting precise strikes in southern Lebanon," the Israel Defense Forces wrote online. 

Slightly earlier on Wednesday, the IDF's Arabic language spokeswoman Ella Waweya had called for residents of Mansouri near the border to evacuate immediately, saying military action was imminent. 

"In light of Hezbollah's violations of the ceasefire agreement, the Israel Defense Forces are compelled to act," she wrote. "For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move north." 

The incidents come a day after the latest round of talks between Israel and Lebanon's government began at the US Embassy in Rome. Hezbollah, which is not party to these talks, had staunchly criticized Lebanese officials for taking part in them on Tuesday. 

The talks aim to remove Hezbollah from southern areas and replace them with Lebanese troops, thus facilitating Israel's withdrawal from its unilaterally imposed "buffer zone" near the de facto border. 

Hello and welcome to our updates from the conflicts in the Middle East as Israel launches new strikes on targets in Lebanon.

We will be bringing you more on this and other major stories from region in this live blog.